1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus to hold a spring collet for a machining process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The manufacturing facility of our present time must have the highest efficiency and quality control yet at the same time costs of operation must be kept to a minimum, all in an effort to remain competitive in a market that is now more ruthless due to the ever present and expanding global economy of scale. Down time of production machines critical to the manufacturing process is an expensive and wasteful matter causing production managers and manufacturing executives to forever update production equipment and machinery.
Rotating machine tools have been at the foundation of the production manufacturing business. The lathe is one such piece of rotating machinery which has been in use since very early times of manufacturing. The lathe is typically a machine tool with a horizontal spindle for shaping a workpiece by gripping it in a holding device and rotating it under power against a suitable cutting tool for turning, boring, facing or threading primarily cylindrical objects. Chucks are used as the holding device. The chuck is a device standard to most lathes for holding the workpiece rigid, usually by means of adjustable jaws or set screws. The collet is a further refinement to the holding device being a split, coned or tapered sleeve for holding generally small circular workpieces inside the chuck.
An earlier chucking mechanism is shown in Duphily at U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,761 where the chuck is typical operating in cooperation with a series of radially placed jaws to hold a workpiece. U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,712 being another similar chucking mechanism issued to Drissner utilizes a chuck mountable on a spindle for cooperation with a series of jaws. A later edition is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,530 to Parsons being entitled "Collet Activating Device" including two concentrically arranged tubular members movable axially and annularly relative to the other. All existant devices consist of variously designed chucks that must be removed, rebored and reinstalled to adapt to the various collets available being at considerable down time cost and causing inefficiency on the production line.
Today's manufacturing facility demands a superior collet attachment apparatus that will reduce down time. The invention presented in this application meets and exceeds this criteria.